Does the Constitution still matter?

01/10/11
It does in the House at least. The new Republican leadership, supported by its impressive freshman class, has adopted a rule change that would require every new bill introduced be accompanied by a statement of its constitutional authority.

This may sound like an obvious requirement, but given the legislative overreach of recent Congresses, frequently backed by activist jurists, such a rule has now become vital. After all, the Constitution creates a federal government of specifically limited and enumerated powers. It does not give Congress an open-ended grant to do whatever it thinks best for the American people.